Pennsylvania braces for powerful winds, rain

By RON TODT, The Associated Press

Saturday, October 27, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania residents and business owners battened down the hatches Saturday as emergency officials warned of high winds and flooding rains with Hurricane Sandy spinning up the East Coast.

State emergency officials were particularly concerned about the potential for strong winds that, when combined with rain-soaked ground, could easily knock over trees and power lines.

“We’re facing a very real possibility of widespread, prolonged power outages,” said Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Ruth Miller after officials conferred with National Weather Service offices serving the commonwealth.

“People need to be getting supplies to prepare themselves for several days in their home without power,” she said.

Emergency officials said the rain and wind could hit the state beginning Sunday afternoon, with heavy rainfall Monday and Tuesday, totaling up to 6 inches in the Philadelphia region. Winds of 35-45 mph and stronger gusts are expected Monday, said meteorologist Valerie Meola of the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, N.J. Central and western Pennsylvania should get less rain and weaker winds.

Gov. Tom Corbett declared a disaster emergency on Friday, activating the state Emergency Operations Center and authorizing the transfer of $5 million in surplus funds to pay for disaster-related expenses.

In Philadelphia, the American Red Cross was setting up emergency shelters Saturday at three schools: West Philadelphia and Roxborough high schools and Samuel Fels elementary school.

Up north in Muncy Valley, business owner Rich Fry prepared for another bout of brutal weather, remembering how floodwaters from Tropical Storm Lee inundated Katie’s Country Store last year. Fry moved materials out of the way in between helping customers Saturday.

“Getting a little better jump on things,” he said. “Moving things so I have less damage and less loss.”

Fry said he was disappointed that the creek across the road from his shop hadn’t been dredged out “so we don’t have this problem over and over and over.”

“Right now, from where I’m standing, I can see a gravel pile that was not there before the flood,” he said. “It’s 5 or 6 feet high and 20 feet wide. If that wasn’t there, that would be several inches of rain that wouldn’t affect me.”

Fry said he was still trying to recover from the storm losses from last year. He and his wife, Deb, estimated the store suffered a $35,000 loss in merchandise. “It will take a lot of years to cover that,” Fry said.

To the south in Lancaster County, workers at the Twin Kiss restaurant in Manheim also were wary of a repeat of the flooding that sent more than 4 feet of water into the establishment.

“We started moving stuff up. Everything’s off the floor,” shift manager Sarah Welsh said. “And we have picnic tables in the back, so we started taking them apart. We’re not going crazy about it, but we’re a little worried.”

The business had to close after Lee, but only took three or four days to recover.